Alternatives to replacing A/F Sensor in Forester

[ari]

I drive a 2001 Subaru Forester S with about 86K miles and last month,
the check engine light came on. I brought it to the dealer and they
ran a diagnostic and found code P0130 involving erratic output from
the A/F sensor and to replace it, minus the diagnostic, would be
$267.95. My warranty is still in effect but the sensor isn't covered.
Am I forced to pay so much money for a sensor? I've driven the car for
about 3K miles since and no problems.

Thoughts?

 

[Gilles Gour]

I drive a 2001 Subaru Forester S with about 86K miles and last month,
the check engine light came on. I brought it to the dealer and they
ran a diagnostic and found code P0130 involving erratic output from
the A/F sensor and to replace it, minus the diagnostic, would be
$267.95. My warranty is still in effect but the sensor isn't covered.
Am I forced to pay so much money for a sensor? I've driven the car for
about 3K miles since and no problems.

Thoughts?

According to the Factory manual for 1996 (and I dont think the code
numbers have changed but I could be wrong) the P0130 code is for a
malfunctionning front O2 sensor. When you write A/F do you mean Mass Air
Flow sensor or MAF ?

 

[Edward Hayes]

There was a recall on O2 sensors. I also think O2 sensors are part of the
emissions system that is warranted for ?? 80,000 miles. eddie

 

[ari]

According to the Factory manual for 1996 (and I dont think the code
numbers have changed but I could be wrong) the P0130 code is for a
malfunctionning front O2 sensor. When you write A/F do you mean Mass Air
Flow sensor or MAF ?

I write A/F sensor because that's what the service report says:
"Customer says chk eng light came on last night..Scanned and found
fault code P0130, a/f sensor circuit error, inspected and found power
in circuit good, sensor output erratic and out of range, needs a/f
sensor..cust declines."

They charged me $88 for the diagnostic, and claim the sensor
replacement would be an additional $267.95. It just seems expensive,
moreso at 86K miles.

I thought it would be covered under emissions too, haven't asked...but
my inspection needs to be done by the end of Feburary.

Thanks.

 

[TG]

A/F means air to fuel ratio....O2 sensor? TG

Gilles Gour <(e-mail address removed)> wrote in message

I write A/F sensor because that's what the service report says:
"Customer says chk eng light came on last night..Scanned and found
fault code P0130, a/f sensor circuit error, inspected and found power
in circuit good, sensor output erratic and out of range, needs a/f
sensor..cust declines."

They charged me $88 for the diagnostic, and claim the sensor
replacement would be an additional $267.95. It just seems expensive,
moreso at 86K miles.

I thought it would be covered under emissions too, haven't asked...but
my inspection needs to be done by the end of Feburary.

Thanks.

 

[Edward Hayes]

Next time go to AutoZone auto parts if you have one in your area. They will
read codes free but, I suppose they expect you to buy the part there. $88
dollars for a 2 minute diagnostic code read is a real money maker when you
can get it done free. eddie

 

[David]

Next time go to AutoZone auto parts if you have one in your area. They will
read codes free

Not in California unfortunately. OTOH, you have a choice of scanners
(standalone & PC-based) for around US $120 and up. It may be a nice
thing to own. Note that not all trouble codes trip the check engine light.
For some cars, at least, the light only goes on for things that could harm
the emissions system (AFAIK).

BTW, on my other cars (one ODB-II, one not) you can make the check-engine
light flash out the codes. Does Subaru do that too?

but, I suppose they expect you to buy the part there. $88
dollars for a 2 minute diagnostic code read is a real money maker when you
can get it done free.

Yup. And while there is more to diagnosis than simply reading and looking up the
code, simply reading the code costs over $100 at my local garage, and the rest
of the diagnosis is hourly. One code-reading is roughly the cost of buying your own
scanner.

 

[ari]

Next time go to AutoZone auto parts if you have one in your area. They will
read codes free but, I suppose they expect you to buy the part there. $88
dollars for a 2 minute diagnostic code read is a real money maker when you
can get it done free. eddie

Which still begs the question whether I should return to the Subaru
dealer for the part replacement (presuming it's really needed). They
are quoting me $267.95 for the part, and I am guessing labor is extra
though maybe it's included. According to 1stsubaruparts.com, several
sensors are sold under $100.

In related news, my Forester's front right foglamp assembly needs
replacement due to internal water. Subaru dealer is charging me $254
to replace (again, I don't know if labor is included) whereas the same
website is charging $142.

 

[David]

Which still begs the question whether I should return to the Subaru
dealer for the part replacement (presuming it's really needed). They
are quoting me $267.95 for the part, and I am guessing labor is extra
though maybe it's included. According to 1stsubaruparts.com, several
sensors are sold under $100.

If this is the O2 sensor, $267 sounds like a lot.

Is that for one sensor, or several? One of my cars has 1 and it's trivial
to replace (with the car on the ground), the other has 3, 2 of which are
difficult to reach, and all require access from below. No idea how many
are on the Forester 2.5l, or how to get to them.

There could be a different problem that caused the O2 sensor to fail.
Is the car running well otherwise?

Also, I'm not sure about this, but it may be possible to clean and reuse
the sensor. I never have, but I've kept a couple that were removed simply
for high mileage (145k), but looked fine.

 

[David]

There could be a different problem that caused the O2 sensor to fail.
Is the car running well otherwise?

I had forgotten about your original post. It's normal at least for some cars
to replace the sensors at around 70k, so maybe it's OK if it failed at 86k
miles.